The 1950s: Elvis and Ireland’s Catholic Pop
Sounds Irish, Acts Global - Explaining the Success of Ireland's Popular Music Industry - Michael Mary Murphy
Michael Mary Murphy [+ ]
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dublin
Michael Mary Murphy is a lecturer on the music industry at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dublin. He worked in the music industry for twenty years as an artist manager as well as an artist and repertoire (A&R) manager in New York and London. He has published a number of articles on the Irish music industry for academic journals and contributes to radio and print media outlets on Irish music industry topics.
Description
When Elvis Presley was at the forefront of youthful rock ‘n’ roll in the US, he appeared on the influential Ed Sullivan Show. A singing group from Ireland appeared on the show with Elvis. The contrast was startling, and it revealed a lot about the cultural chasm between Ireland and the epicentre of pop music. In particular, it highlighted the generally unexplored, yet powerful, bond between the Catholic church and the pop industry in Ireland.